Big Ol Goat Rocks Loop

Description

This is a 28-mile route (or 35-mile loop) with over 8,000 feet of climbing in the Goat Rocks Wilderness that is mostly on single track trail through a variety of forest and alpine zones. There is a very small amount of route finding on rocks and fire road running. This takes you to the Goat Rocks’ biggest hits: Goat Lake, Goat Ridge, Old Snowy Mountain, the headwaters of the Cispus River, and Walupt Lake. More than a third of this route is run on the well-loved Pacific Crest Trail. The route does most of the climbing up front, with about 1,500 feet left at the end after all your descending. You can either cut out the last climb and 7 miles with two cars (one at Walupt Lake) or connect the loop on foot.

Getting there

Getting there will involve driving on some washboard dirt roads, but no high clearance vehicle is required. The original route starts and finishes at the Snowgrass Trailhead off of Chambers Lake Road, and is signed as you drive in on Forest Road 21 from the south end of Packwood, WA. In addition to cutting the loop, you could also start the loop at either the Berry Patch or Walupt Lake trailheads. Starting and ending at Walupt Lake would set you up for a nice swim at the end.